Got Silk?

When I was visiting my friend Dee in Ohio last month, she showed me two bags of silks, velvets and other "fancy" fabrics her church had given her because it couldn't be used to make quilts and mentioned that she was going to send me some pieces.  I received my box last weekend and was amazed at the amount of fabric that the blue box from Fat Quarter Shop Sew Sampler could contain.

There were at least 100 pieces of silk, velvets, chiffon, i.e., fancy fabrics along with some fancy threads.  I wonder if Fat Quarter Shop knew that quilters were going to reuse their boxes to send their care packages; those boxes are so darn cute.

I would say that at least 95% of my stash is cotton and the remaining 5% is wool I use for appliqué projects and fleece/minky I use for backing.  The only stash of "fancy fabrics" I had was some silk ties a friend gave me when he retired, a mix bundle of silk/wools and a packet of solid color silk fabric which were scattered all around in my studio.

I happy to say that I now have a bin exclusively for my "fancy fabrics" which I put away after really thinking about what I was going to do with it.

I spent some time on Pinterest since I've never worked with silk before.  I found a helpful link here:   

Sewing with Silk Tips

I'm going to need to buy some silk pins, fortunately I have a supply of silk threads, but may need to check my sewing needles inventory.

I think making some yo-yo necklaces may be in the future:

Yo-Yo Necklace

Definitely some beads:

Fabric Bead Scarf

And after telling my friend Carol about my new stash, she gave me an idea to use it for special details like lining a pocket with silk or an ear on a stuffed animal made for the new grandchild.

After being overwhelmed with this wonderful windfall and trying to figure out what I wanted to make with my new fancy fabric stash, I decided to step back and give myself permission not to have an immediate purpose for it and to just let this be a welcome addition to my stash.  When the right project comes along, I will be ready; I just know that I won't be making a silk dress.